← Fruit H44-06 · Module 6 of 7 · Pages: 19 · Worksheets: 6

Fruit vinegar

Cider vinegar from juice and from scraps, wine and honey vinegar: two fermentations, the mother, temperature, measuring strength and what home-made vinegar may be used for

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Fruit vinegar

In short

  • Vinegar forms in two fermentations: yeasts make alcohol (without air), and acetic acid bacteria turn the alcohol into acid (with air).
  • It works best at 20–30 °C (68–86 °F), in the dark, in a wide container covered with muslin. Below 15 °C (59 °F) it almost stops.
  • Juice with roughly 10–12 % sugar gives vinegar of roughly 4–6 % acidity.
  • Home-made vinegar does not go into preserves: its strength is unknown and varies. For pickles and chutneys use shop vinegar with the acidity stated on the label.
  • Containers: glass, lead-free ceramic, oak or stainless steel. Never aluminium, copper, iron, galvanised metal or an old crock with an unknown glaze.

What's inside

Chapters

  1. How vinegar forms
  2. Containers, equipment and place
  3. The mother and acetic acid bacteria
  4. Recipe: cider vinegar from juice
  5. Recipe: scrap vinegar from peels and cores
  6. Vinegar strength: how to measure it
  7. Clearing, pasteurising and storage
  8. What home-made vinegar is for
  9. Common mistakes
  10. Printable checklist

Worksheets

  • Vinegar calendar
  • Sugar and alcohol calculator
  • Acidity calculator
  • Batch diary
  • Vinegar inventory
  • Bottle labels

Fields and checkboxes can be filled in with Adobe Acrobat Reader (desktop and mobile), and the calculator adds up by itself. Filling in may not work in some browsers. A print version comes with the screen PDF.

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